Capitals-Canadiens Winners & Losers

Winners:

Eric Fehr. This is the year guys. This is it. It's been six (going on seven) years since we drafted him, but this is what we've been waiting for. Six goals in the past 12 games. We just have to thank god Gabby didn't put him in on the shootout. That could have been bad (well, not as bad as his last attempt).

Semyon Varlamov. 14-1-3 in the NHL. Nuff said. Good luck getting your job back Theo.

Alex Ovechkin. Injury? What injury? Ovi dangled (thanks for saying that 4256459 times Locker) all night long and finished with a goal and an assist. Although I've come to assume that he'll score on every time he gets a breakaway so props to CP for shutting down Alex twice. He also added on six zero hits.

Nicklas Backstrom. Did have one giveaway (one more than he's usually good for)...Made up for it by winning the game. 47% from the dot isn't terrible. Let's see more shots on net, though.

Brian Pothier. He has become a (very) poor man's Mike Green. Gotta love the fact that he's willing to drive the net and pay the price late in the game. Why was he ever a healthy scratch?

Alexandre Giroux. Just kidding!

Medium:

Mathieu Perreault. Keeps creating = keeps playing with the Caps.

Karl Alzner. Picks up his first assist of his career in 20+ minutes. More King Karl plz.

Jay Beagle. Almost knocked in Ovechkin's rebound. Shoulda, woulda, coulda Jay. Next time.

Losers:

The Rooster. Boo! Hiss! Dude, seriously go away. Who died and promoted him to the first line? Okay maybe that last one was a little harsh, but I digress. Giroux did not have a good game. Two stupid #$%@ing penalties. The first interference call was kinda bogus, but as he was leaving the box (for a second time) in the third, Travis Moen was celebrating Montreal's third goal. He is indeed a 'tweener' (no, not this). Good in the AHL, not so much in the NHL ('Inbetween' the AHL/NHL...get it?). Words spoken by Locker. Yes Craig, I make up words too.

Capitals-Wild Winners & Losers

Winners:

Mathieu Perreault. Sure it was Pothier who got the game-winner, but Perry has been money since he got here. Mathieu has an impressive four points in five games. It should be noted that he's out there for nine minutes, not 19 like the top six forwards.

Semyon Varlamov. Yes, he should have stopped Cal Clutterbuck's 'flutter-dipper' (as the Minny announcers call it), but since that's the only mistake, we'll take it. Me thinks he's earned another start, but seeing how the Caps travel tomorrow to play in New Jersey, the smart move is to throw Theo back in net.

Shots. Two straight games with 40+ shots. The Caps won't lose many games doing this.

Special Teams. The Penalty-killers did not allow a goal in three chances and the Caps converted once in three chances on the extra man. A beauty of a pass from Flash to Green. It's nice to know things don't fall apart with Ovi out of commission.

David Steckel. 15/18 in the face-off circle including a perfect 11/11 in the neutral zone.

Medium:

Nicklas Backstrom. Questionable call but a stupid penalty none-the-less. Backstrom knows better.

Mike Knuble. Got injured...doing what he does best. So I guess that's okay. Get better soon now.

Eric Fehr and Tomas Fleischmann. Combined, they had two assists. Combined, they also had as many shots on net as Steckel. With Ovechkin out, it's okay to shoot it once in a while.

Losers:

The Caps. Here me out... None of them have mustaches! If Green rocks the hawk, someone, anyone needs to rock the 'stache. It's a great cause and you'll look like a porn star as manly as Kyle Brodziak:

Capitals-Islanders Winners & Losers

Winners:

Alexander Semin. Despite most fans doing this (above) after the Islanders' third goal, your two three goals made up for it. Semin "could have easily scored five goals", but two and a shootout goal will have to suffice. His 11 shots were the most since...ever.

Semyon Varlamov. Tonight we saw the same Semyon Varlamov that we saw in the playoffs last season. Varly was bombarded in the final period and stood up to the challenge. A brick wall couldn't have stopped that Trent Hunter goal. Talk about earning a start.

Tomas Fleischmann. His sixth goal in seven games puts him on pace for over 60 goals this year. Realistically? Let's go for 30. Still somehow -2. Huh.

Mike Green. Two assists in 25:26. He's probably still banged up, but that shouldn't be his excuse for not passing it once in a while when he does these full-ice rushes into the offensive zone.

Nicklas Backstrom. When you have a share of the league-lead in assists, even when you lose the puck, it turns into an assist.

Medium:

Eric Fehr. Ugly shootout attempt, ugly goal. Whatevs. Take em as they come.

Special Teams. 2/3 with the extra man. Ovechkin who? (Kidding, please come back soon). Allowing a power play goal late in the third is never fun. Especially when it forces Overtime.

Losers:

Jose Theodore. There's the Jose Theodore that we all love and remember. Maybe the three goals weren't his fault? Maybe you're in the dog house if you give up three goals in a six minute stretch?

Chris Cooley. Do I think Cooley is a loser? No (but the people on Twitter tonight do...you know who you are). Do I think that the Redskins are losers? Yes. So stay away from our (non-injured) hockey players. Or just keep the interviews to less than the time of a whole freakin period.

Capitals-Blue Jackets Winners & Losers

Winners:

Brooks Laich. With Ovechkin out, Laich's two goals in 128 seconds put the Caps in the lead (for a measly three minutes and 13 seconds). On the first goal, Laich was where he should have been, and he was rewarded. His second goal was a gift. Whatevs. Take em as they come.

Quintin Laing. How's that for secondary scoring? The Q-Man's second NHL goal was sandwiched between two Raffi Torres goals in the third period. Laing also had at least one dandy of a blocked shot.

Rick Nash. So good. So underrated.

Medium:

Alexander Semin. Four shots in the first five minutes are nice. Too bad he totaled two in the 55 minutes after that. Okay he did have two assists, but stop doing those stupid toe drag/curl-and-drag moves (hey, at least Brian Pothier is taking notes, right?).

Mike Knuble. That 30-second span of fore-checking sparked a somewhat exhausted Verizon Center crowd. We could do without the two slashing infractions (one of which, Columbus scored a Power Play goal on).

Losers:

Tom Poti. Quintin Laing threw up a little when you tried to block Rick Nash's eventually assist to the GWG in OT. Actually Laing was too busy not rotating down toward the crease to help out... your fault too Quintin!

Jason Chimera. Ever just watch someone play and decide you hate everything about his game? Me neither too. Nate the Great puts it best here.

Guy wearing a Jaromir Jagr jersey behind the Capitals' bench. For a three-month period in 2001, wearing this jersey might have been respectable. Now it's just pathetic. No word on whether the person next to him was wearing a Sergei Berezin jersey.

Other comments:

• I don't understand what constitutes goalie interference, and I don't think I ever will.
• If you've ever played goalie at any level, when you lose your goalie stick, you feel naked. So take it easy on Theo while watching the replay of that "soft" goal that squeaked through the 5-hole.
• Antoine Vermette and David Steckel took 26 and 25 face-offs, respectively. That just seems like a lot.
• Finally, there is no ***king way Bruce ***king Boudreau is fatter than this mother ****king fat ***k. (Note: Sean Avery's words have been changed/altered, this was not sic'd)

Capitals-Islanders Winners & Losers

Winners

Jose Theodore. Theodore looks really, really good. He also had a great game. Counting the San Jose game where he was taken out with back spasms after the first period, he's allowed two or less goals in four of his six starts. If Theo remains healthy, the Theolamov combo is going to be a force to be reckoned with.

Mike Green. He could have taken a shot on the final play instead, he chipped it at a streaking Brooks Laich who re-directed it behind Dwayne Roloson (who just might have made it to the the locker room before the Capitals emptied their bench to celebrate). MGGO also scored his second of the season with a laser beam in the second period. Not too bad for a guy who was on the receiving end of a vicious knee-to-knee hit earlier in the game.

Keith Aucoin. When he wasn't trying to stick handle with his bum on the ice, Aucoin had a solid game. Tons of energy and throwing pucks on net defined tonight's performance. Keith now has three goals in his past 10 games for Washington dating back to last season (two have come against the Islanders).

John Tavares. This kid is freakin good.

Caps Fans. The Road Crew was there, the Fan Club was there, and the guy with the red cape was there. Awesome.

Medium

Craig Laughlin. I'm happy that little Timmy scored for his soccer team. I'm less happy that it took you five minutes to explain what happened while Smokin' Al was trying to call the game.

Losers

Power Play. Another 'O'fer on the night. Tisk, tisk. It's nice to see guys like Giroux and Aucoin 'earn' time, but it's also nice to see a power play goal once in a while. Someone needs to figure out two units and stick with them. Gabby can mess with the 5-on-5 lines all he wants, but I think line consistency with the extra man is the key.

Face-offs. Yahoo! says 20/66, NHL says 17/50. Not sure what's going on here. Not to single anyone out or anything, but David Steckel didn't win a draw in the third period (0/4) and was 4/15 overall.

Eric Fehr. Please learn how to take a hit and hold on to the puck. Please?

Other Thoughts

• We all knew Nate Thompson is a fighter. Now we all know that he's a dirty player.
• Brendan Morrison just might be is the most underrated free agent pickup of the year. There, I said what everyone's thinking.
• Capitals shots: 24. Capitals shots that were blocked: 21. Good defense or bad shot selection?
• The Caps were outplayed and probably didn't deserve to win. Washington is going to get blown out of the water if they play like this in their next game (Tuesday vs. Philadelphia).
• We'll end things on a photo of Alex Giroux's best chance. Com'on Rooster, eyes on the puck!
• 

Capitals-Rangers Winners & Losers

Winners:

Nicklas Backstrom. It took Backstrom 17 games last year to get two goals. This season, he beat that record by just a few games. One goal was nice (above), and one goal was a gift (below). Either, or, we'll take 'em as they come.


Tyler Sloan. I was a little iffy on how he would do tonight, but he came out with great energy and played a vital role on the forecheck. He finished with one assist and he is my nomination for getting a jersey for next game.

Brian Pothier. Helluva pass. That cross-ice assist was Backstrom-esque on Semin's first period goal.

Medium:

Alexander Semin. Another goal scored, but even more opportunities. Semin stayed out of the box and is now tied with Ovechkin (and Mike Richards) for league-lead in goals.

Alex Ovechkin. He put nine shots on net but there was at least one instance where he should have been more selfish. Opting to pass to Chris Clark instead of shooting on Lundqvist from point-blank range was a mistake. Ovechkin knows this, and it should not happen again.

Losers:

Jose Theodore. It's like night and day for Caps' goalies this season. Maybe Theo was screened a few times, maybe not, but the point is that if the puck is trickling by the goalie and slides across the goal line, it's most likely the goaltender's fault. Let's not start the Neuvirth conversations just yet because there is no point in hitting the panic switch just four games into the season.

Power Play. Nine opportunities with this squad should translate into at least two or three goals and throw in a 5-on-3 advantage and the outcome of this game should have been much different. There is too much talent on the ice for the Capitals to convert only once.

They have a day to re-couperate then it's game time at Joe Louis to face the Wings. The Caps now know where their problems are and it is up to them to fix it before other teams exploit them.

Capitals-Flyers Winners & Losers

Winners:

Alex Ovechkin. Holy crap. We are all witnesses, people. Enough with this "Ovechkin is on track for ___ goals", because there are no signs he will slow down. So yes, he will end up with 136.94 goals.

Nicklas Backstrom. A wise man once said that Nicklas would finish among the top five in points this year. Eight points in three games and he's well on his way. Now about those face-offs Nicky... 4/13 (31%) is boarder line- "So how can we get this guy ice time without letting him take draws?"

Alexander Semin. Another two goal game for Alex and he didn't even take a hooking penalty!

Medium:

Jose Theodore. I thought he should have started, but he did excellent after filling in for Varlamov. He stopped everything he should have in a valiant effort inside the hostile Wachovia Center.

Brendan Morrison. He scored 10 times in 62 games last year with Anaheim (not including those 19 games in Dallas) and he's now got two goals in three games. B-Mo is just an all-around good, hard-working athlete...probably grew up playing soccer, too.

Matt Bradley. Two assists and a fight is a very productive night. Questions surrounded how the Capitals would react to Philly's toughness, and Bradley answered the bell. Matt also recorded his fourth career two-assist game... three of those games have come against the Flyers.


Quintin Laing Jeff Schultz. Four blocked shots. Cha-ching.

Losers:

Semyon Varlamov. Maybe all the goals scored on him were not his fault (Erskine, get out of the way!), but that last goal definitely was. Boudreau said this would be a 'test' to see if Varly could play in this environment. Test = failed. Chin up, kid.

Boyd Kane. 4:53 TOI, 2 PIM. Go awayyyy.

John Erskine. He was on the ice for five of the six Philly goals. Johnny also picked up two penalties to boot. Someone just nominated them self for the position Tyler Sloan played tonight.

Penalties. 10 Power Plays! And the Capitals took five penalties in the second period alone. You know you've got a problem when Boyd Gordon is getting sent to the sin bin.

Capitals-Maple Leafs Winners & Losers

Thankfully, we only play three periods in hockey as T-Dot came storming back from an early deficit. Either way, another check in the 'W' column comes with a 6-4 victory:

Winners:

Alexander Semin. Five points in two games is foreshadowing big things for the Sascha. The top line of this Capitals' team is going to put up big numbers (as it should). Which begs the question, which line is the best in the NHL? He also won both draws he took.

Alex Ovechkin. For scoring less than two minutes into action. If you're a D-man and you get Ovechkin 1-on-1, it sucks to be you. He was also credited with four hits, including a dandy on Jason Blake. He is on pace for 123 goals... But he's also on pace for 164 PIM.

New Editions. Mike Knuble and Brendan Morrison both made a great first impression on the bandwagon fans at Verzion tonight. Knuble comes as advertised and B-Mo's goal was a thing of beauty. Keep it up newbies.

Medium:

Brooks Laich. Highlight of the night goes to Brooksie's killer deke that pretty much finished Vesa Toskala's night. He was also awarded the third star of the night. Probably a toss up as to which is more important to him.

Semyon Varlamov. Maybe he gave up a bad rebound on one goal, but he was solid the rest of the night. He stopped all the shots he was supposed to and that's all you can ask for. So who starts Tuesday in Philadelphia? Jose Theodore? Varlamov? Neuvirth?? I'd go with Theo.

Losers:

The 3rd period. Had there been a fourth in hockey, this might have changed the outcome of the game. Six shots against and three goals allowed is not fun. It is a bit less nerve-racking if you are spotted a five-goal lead, but unacceptable either way. Lack of focus could be a problem this year.

Additional Thoughts:

• Should Jeff Schultz be playing? If so, who would he replace? Pothier played well, Erskine played well..at times (and avoided a pointless fight in the first period). No Cap defender has played their way out of a spot thus far so it will be interesting as to who will be scratched when Shultzie is in the lineup. For what it's worth, the Caps are 11-6 dating back to last year in games Schultz has not suited up for.
• "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6...It's all you're fault!!" is brilliant. Keep it up guy in the lower level who starts the chant directed at the opposing goalie.
  
• If he's not already, Mike Knuble will become a fan favorite in no time.
• Quintin Laing on the Power Play? Might as well put Boyd Kane on the PK while you're at it... (Okay it was only 23 seconds for Quintin, but still).
• Speaking of the PP, the Caps don't mess around like they did last year. A shot from the point immediately follows a face-off win. None of this 'too cute' stuff (yet). This year's unit should finish in the top five assuming this continues (3/7, 43%).